The story behind and how to tie Steve’s Charlie’s Muddler.
Playing in the Mud
Rick Kustich gives us hope when the water turns muddy. Check out this article and perhaps you will have new strategies when other fly fishers are staying at home.
No Fish Harmed: Will Bush
Fly tying and tackle history, some fine spey casting on beautiful British Columbia steelhead water and more with one of today’s iconic classic fly tyers Will Bush in this episode of No Fish Harmed from Swing the Fly and Tight Line Films.
The Orange Asher: a swung trout dry
“During my tailgate meditation, I felt thankful to have spent time on the water with my dog and for the little orange fly that resulted in such great action during the slowest month of the year.”
Dan Gates doesn’t let the cold of winter stop him from finding dry fly action in Utah. Find out what works for him.
Shakey Bealey
The story of this fly involves a hard-to-find run on an easy-to-find river, a snowstorm, and an old park ranger with shaky hands.
Icons: Marty Howard
In this installment of Icons, we visit with Marty Howardas he talks about his literary plans with fellow rockstars Dec Hogan and Brian Silvey, and whether or not the fly you choose really matters.
George Grant’s Woven Nymph
George Grant and Franz Pott were the best-known tiers of the woven-hackle fly with their Featherbacks, Black Creepers, Fizzles, and Sandy Mites.
Syl Nemes Mother’s Day Caddis
To me, the real magic happened in places like the Shilo Inn convention center and old fly shops with the smell of coffee and moth-balls etched into the wood paneling, or pretty much anywhere an old timer has hot coffee, a hidden flask and time to tell you about the days gone by.
Greenwells Glory
The Greenwells Glory is an old fly with a storied history. I won’t repeat that history here, as you can easily find it yourself. However, I can attest that it catches just as many fish now as it did in 1854 (the supposed year of its creation)
Icons: Clark Lucas
With a famously eclectic vocabulary, a contagious full-belly laugh and a cache of body language to match his love of high volume jazz, Clark Lucas is undoubtedly one of the most dynamic characters in the spey fishing and fly tying universe.
The Way of Winter
While other anglers are fumbling in the parking lot with size 24 flies on 6x drop-shot rigs, the swung fly angler can tie on a single size 18 fly to a gargantuan 4x leader and still have plenty of time to sit on the bank and drink coffee before the hatch begins.
Hackling Spiders and Flymphs
There is no single correct way to hackle a wee fly, and there are a handful of ways to get the job done, but hackling is important to the proper construction. And some ways are better than others. Following is the most effective method of hackling I’ve found.